Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 271 The South is the South for Southerners!
Hua Lun looked at Xia Zhibai suspiciously, muttered a few words, and reminded him: "Brother Xia, since the government officials dared to hand over these lists, I'm afraid they have already given instructions in secret. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to convince them without substantial evidence."

Lian Zining came over, looked at the two people arguing, and said with a smile: "Hua Lun, you are really too impatient sometimes."

"Brother Xia, are you the kind of person who doesn't make any preparations?"

"Don't forget, when Brother Xia came here, he had a little follower with him."

"And a few days ago, this little follower disappeared."

"Where do you think this guy went?"

Hua Lun was stunned.

He blinked, as if he had thought of something, and suddenly raised his head with disbelief in his eyes, and said, "That follower? You had already arranged it in advance!"

He has come to his senses.

In his eyes, that little follower was too insignificant.

He didn't take it to heart at all.

Now, after Lian Zining's mention of this, he suddenly became enlightened and knew the real way out of the impasse.

Even he didn't take the little follower seriously, let alone the local officials? They would probably find it even harder to take it seriously.

And it was precisely this little follower who became the key to tearing open the local fraud!
Hua Lun then frowned, stroking his chin with a suspicious look on his face, and said with some uncertainty: "But there is one thing I don't understand. How much can a small follower do? I'm afraid he can't even finish his tour of Yuhang. How much information can he get?"

Xia Zhibai smiled but said nothing.

He did not give a definite answer.

Lu Cang is indeed his trump card, but this trump card has actually been exposed for a long time.

It is indeed difficult for Lu Cang to collect useful information alone. This is indeed the confusion of Lian Zining, Hua Lun and others. After all, he has never been to the south and is unfamiliar with the place. Even if he wants to collect information, it is difficult to find a clue. How much key information can he collect by collecting information sporadically?

This is the case when Lu Cang has not been discovered. What if he was discovered and noticed by local officials?

I’m afraid the information Lu Cang can collect will be even more limited.

Seeing Hua Lun still looking confused, Xia Zhibai said, "It's not the time to speak out now. Now that the stage is set, it's time for him to sing. If I reveal some information in advance when I go on stage, wouldn't it lose the sense of urgency? And it won't achieve the desired effect."

"Don't worry."

"This time, I will make sure these people have nowhere to hide."

"As the saying goes, business is business. Since I am responsible for handling the unrest among the southern kitchen residents, I will naturally focus on solving their needs."

"Cleaning up the government is not my main responsibility."

"This is Jinyiwei's business!"

Hear the words.

Hua Lun and Lian Zining looked at each other, a hint of vigilance in their eyes.

Jinyiwei?
They haven't seen Jiang Li for several days.

The Jinyiwei have always been elusive. No one knows what they are doing specifically, and no one knows what they have found out. But from Xia Zhibai's tone, it seems that Jiang Li is not so obedient and has been investigating something in secret. Could the Jinyiwei be helping Xia Zhibai?

With the Jinyiwei's extraordinary abilities, if they could help Xia Zhibai, people would be certain.

Just when Hua Lun and Lian Zining were secretly relaxing, Jie Min came back, bringing with her a list of salt factories handed over by Zhejiang Salt Transport Bureau.

Hua Lun and Lian Zining took a few quick steps, took the list in their hands, and read it carefully.

Seeing the nearly thirty salt factories listed, they couldn't help but gasp. Lian Zining said, "Thirty-four salt factories. No wonder the Zhejiang Salt Transport Bureau didn't want to hand in the list. Isn't that too many? The Zhejiang Provincial Administration Bureau has only eleven prefectures under its jurisdiction. So, that means there are almost three salt factories in each prefecture."

"According to the scale of the salt factory Brother Xia gave us before, one salt factory per prefecture is more than enough."

“This is too much extra!”

Hua Lun said, "You can't compare like that."

"Zhejiang is different from Yingtian Prefecture. Zhejiang has a much larger population and a greater demand for salt. It's understandable that there are so many salt factories, but the number is indeed too much. It's a bit scary. Even Jiangxi and Huguang, which are equally densely populated, don't have this many salt factories."

Xia Zhibai walked closer, looked at the list, and then flipped through it, as if looking for something.

finally.

He stopped.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Brother Xia, what are you laughing at?" Lian Zining noticed something strange about Xia Zhibai.

Xia Zhibai said: "I looked at the scope of these salt factories and their approximate output."

"Is there a problem?" Lian Zining asked.

Xia Zhibai nodded, Lian Zining focused his mind and read the list and the accompanying information. However, after reading it once or twice, he did not find any problems.

Xia Zhibai said: "Take a look at Ningbo Prefecture. Ningbo Prefecture is close to the sea. Normally, its salt production should be greater than other places. But in this regard, Ningbo's salt production is only below average. This is obviously a problem."

"Besides."

“The scale of these salt factories in Ningbo is not large.”

"Ningbo is a relatively large city with a long history of prosperous commerce. From the Song Dynasty to the present, it has always been an important seaport city."

"For such an important port city, how could the salt production be small?"

"You mean there's something missing?" Hua Lun said solemnly.

Xia Zhibai nodded.

He smiled and said, "I'm not sure, but nine times out of ten there is a problem."

"Besides, when I came here, I learned about the situation in Zhejiang. Ningbo Prefecture is a big city with a large population, developed commerce, and a military garrison. The situation there is very complicated, and the salt factory involves many interests, so it is not easy to reach an agreement."

“There are trade-offs.”

Xia Zhibai didn't say much, these were just guesses.

Hua Lun and Lian Zining looked at each other, and there was a hint of conviction in their eyes.

After listening to Xia Zhibai's words, they thought about it carefully and indeed felt that there were some problems.

Hua Lun said solemnly, "If this is true, these people are really attentive. In order to fool us, they are willing to push so many salt factories in front of us, just to make us think that they are really doing their best and have no selfish motives."

"If we really don't take it seriously and believe it, then the hidden salt factory will become a completely unsupervised factory. At that time, whether it is smuggling or selling in other ways, it can be said to be very profitable."

"This is like trying to pull chestnuts out of the fire."

Lian Zining snorted coldly: "How can this be considered as taking advantage of the situation? It is clearly outrageous."

"Do they still have the imperial court in their eyes?!"

Xia Zhibai's face was calm. He put the list aside and said calmly, "This is just speculation. Don't take it seriously. Everything must be based on evidence. Without evidence, it's all in vain."

Hua Lun asked, "Aren't there Jinyiwei?"

"Send the Royal Guards to Ningbo Prefecture to investigate and you will find out."

"What's so difficult about this?"

Xia Zhibai smiled and did not continue talking about this topic. He said, "Let's focus on the next two conferences. This is our main event. The matter of the salt factory is ultimately a game between the local government and the central court. It has little to do with what we are going to do. What we need to solve is the riot of the stove owners."

“These are just pawns to help our game.”

Xia Zhibai took this very easy.

What they had to do was simple, which was to eliminate the hidden dangers of the kitchen stoves, but the local government had to consider many things.

The more you do, the more mistakes you make.

And they want a lot.

As long as he keeps breaking the rules and disrupting their established layout, the local government will reveal more and more evidence and problems. In this situation, they are bound to become more and more passive and lose the initiative. In the end.
You can only keep cutting the meat.

Xia Zhibai regained his composure and ordered, "Since all the salt transport offices have submitted their lists, let's notify them. The official and business conference will be held as scheduled the day after tomorrow. Those who fail to show up will be removed from the list of the salt transport office, and the government will also forcibly confiscate their steam-made salt-making equipment."

"If anyone disobeys, they will be investigated and punished!"

"There is no room for personal gain!"

Xia Zhibai's tone was very firm.

It was impossible for him to compromise on these matters. He was now the imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty. His every word and action represented the will of the court. He would not allow anyone to disobey him, nor would he allow any changes.

Hua Lun nodded.

Xia Zhibai added: "Remember to tell these words to the local governor and the salt transport department."

"Let them think it over!"

"I don't have much time to give them."

Hua Lun's mind was focused, he knew that this was Xia Zhibai's ultimatum.

He has given the place plenty of opportunities.

Not long after.

Li Benmo received the document sent by Xia Zhibai. Looking at the tough and overbearing tone on it, Li Benmo's face darkened. Veins bulged on his hand holding the document, and the uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense.

He could naturally see what Xia Zhibai was intending.

It's just a threat, asking them to behave themselves and not try to play any tricks.

If any problems are found, don't blame Xia Zhibai for not informing them in advance. He has been very polite and given them face.

But it was impossible for Li Benmo to be frightened by just a few words.

He couldn't retreat either.

At this point, he no longer has control over many things.

There are too many people involved behind the scenes, and too many interests are involved. The only way to take a step back now is because the son-in-law Li Qi took the initiative to speak up. And if Li Qi had not taken the initiative to persuade other officials, I am afraid that the current retreat would not have been possible.

even so.

This is the limit.

It is almost impossible to take a step back.

No one was willing to retreat, even though Xia Zhibai had made an open threat and even made harsh remarks, no one cared. Even though Xia Zhibai was famous and had the Jinyiwei by his side, the interests were attractive, and these salt factories were secretly making too much money and grain.

So many that it makes people lose their minds.

Only greed.

Moreover, they cannot retreat. Once they retreat, many things will be exposed. With the violent temper of the current emperor, how can they end up well? I am afraid that by then, countless people in the south will lose their heads and rivers of blood will flow.

They must hold on tight.

Li Benmo closed his eyes slightly, slowly loosened his palm, and said softly: "How can one extricate oneself when one is in it?"

"I have done my best."

"What the final outcome will be, will be determined by heaven."

"If Xia Zhibai had really discovered something wrong, it might have shocked these people. However, given their greed, they probably wouldn't give in easily. They would definitely make a final struggle. Who knows what the final result would be."

"It's hard to be an official in the Ming Dynasty."

Li Benmo sighed repeatedly.

"I have been fed by the emperor and received salary from the government, but now I have fallen to such a state. I cannot distinguish right from wrong, and I deliberately confuse people and help the tyrants to do evil. I have read the books of sages for decades in vain. The rich and powerful enjoy so much, while the people's hardships are endless."

"It's not my fault."

"It's not my fault!"

"Its crime."

"The world!!!"

Li Benmo stood with his hands behind his back, his back becoming even more hunched.

The South is a big melting pot, and no one can stay out of it, even if officials from the imperial court come.

How could Xia Zhibai succeed in trying to intimidate the entire southern bureaucracy by his own strength? If things really get pushed to the limit and the entire south riots, even the current emperor would have to think twice and send people to appease them.

This is the real source of the South’s invincibility!

Back at the government office, Li Benmo handed the document to Zhang Tong and said indifferently, "This is the document sent by Xia Zhibai. Take a good look at it and remember to pass on the message. This so-called official-business conference will be held in a day, so remember to be prepared."

“I don’t want that to happen.”

Zhang Tong smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. I guarantee nothing will go wrong."

“We have everything under control.”

"The information Xia Zhibai and his friends have seen, the people they have come into contact with, and the facts they have learned are all arranged by us. We let them see them. Even the people who convened the meeting were selected by us. They are all our people. So what if Xia Zhibai is an imperial envoy of the court?"

"He can't beat us."

"The South is always the South for us Southerners!"

"No matter how the world changes, the South will always stand firm."

Li Benmo glanced at Zhang Tong sinisterly and sneered, "I hope so. I just hope I don't mess things up. If something goes wrong, don't blame me, Li Benmo, for not remembering our friendship. I don't want to get myself involved!"

Zhang Tong laughed and said complacently, "That will never happen."

“We are fully prepared.”

"Foolproof."

"The merchants attending this meeting mainly include Fang Rengang from Jinhua Salt Factory, Wang Chongde from Haiyan Salt Factory, and Zhou Maolin from Wukang County."

"Your Excellency must be aware of the people behind these people."

"They are all family members!"

"They won't betray us, and they will all stand on our side."

"We are the ones who send people to the government and the merchants. The only ones who don't are Xia Zhibai and his gang. But how much trouble can they stir up? In the end, won't they just be led by us?"

"If Xia Zhibai knows what's good for him, we can save his face."

"If not."

"It's not a bad idea to embarrass him."

"Merchants are cunning by nature. What's the big deal about teasing Xia Zhibai?"

Zhang Tong is full of confidence.

(End of this chapter)